Iroha Ryokan

Pretty good.

The morning bus ride to the university was free, which made me especially happy. All the exam candidates also received the usual exam support chocolate, except this was a product made just for the inn and wasn’t available for sale. I still have the box as a souvenir. I stayed here for the Kyoto University entrance exams. My booking only included the large communal bath, which was spacious and comfortable, and breakfast was quite filling. The place seemed considerate of exam candidates in lots of ways. I’m already a Kyoto University student, so taking the exam again isn’t possible, but if I could, I’d definitely stay here.

I heard that Iroha Inn, by Keihan Sanjo Station in Kyoto, is closing on December 20th. I stayed there many times with school trip students while I was at Misato High School, and I’d arranged for it to host the study trip of the Toda City Cultural Heritage Research Association, which leaves at the end of January next year. Today I got a call saying it looked like the inn was closing, so they moved the reservation to another place. Sure enough, the manager had posted a message on the website. It’s sad to hear. Thank you for all the help over so many school trips, and even with cultural heritage visits. Seeing old photos of the first-floor lobby brings it all back: students checking in, leaving their groups, storing luggage, and eating together in the cafeteria. I remember the L-shaped building, trading insults with high school students from the inn across the street, and Mr. S having a bad cold. I’m sure teachers reading this blog will remember those days too. After the stays with the Toda Cultural Heritage Research Group, I also looked after everyone’s luggage and picked it up. Those are fond memories. Thank you for everything. Masayoshi Kato, former staff member, Saitama Prefectural Misato High School

We were apparently the last guests, which made our recent school trip stay feel quite touching. There were so many of us that the food was a bit cold, but the shabu-shabu on the second day was absolutely delicious!